The Dragon Quest role-playing gaming (RPG) series is a huge mainstream franchise in Japan but known only to hardcore gamers in Europe.

Dragon Quest IX should go some way to change this, especially as it is only available on the family-friendly Nintendo DS. Fans needn't worry about dumbing down, though – this is as deep and time-consuming as any of the older games.

As with most Japanese RPGs, the action starts slowly. Expect to plough through some pretty tedious plot and character stories for the first couple of hours. Soon after though, things start to open up as you recruit your first party members. The ever-addictive levelling-up process starts to bite as you find new items and new places to explore.

Don't expect a revolution, though. As is usual for this genre, you control a party of up to four characters and start off in a town (basically pitstops and plot advancement areas). Then you are off to the fields and dungeons that make up most of the action. Combat is done in classic turn-based style with orders issues to party members and strategy necessary to choose the best moves. You will need to head out on gratuitous killing sessions – "grinding" – at times to gain the necessary skills to beat the tougher challenges, but the game does feel more forgiving than a lot of similar titles.

The plot also feels less important than other Japanese RPGs although at least the localisation – complete with some oddly charming Scottish/Cockney dialogue – is decent. The graphics are cute but underwhelming. Items and clothing can be customised and displayed but the environments are mainly uninspiring. However, the sheer size of the game makes up for it. The scale of what is on offer here knocks pretty much all DS games out of the water. Even 25 hours in you barely feel you have scratched the surface. And that's without the nifty multiplayer mode. Much like Crackdown 2, players can enter a host's game but can decide whether to help out or do their own thing. Sadly, multiplayer is restricted to local play – the ability to play over the internet would have been hugely welcome.

Despite this, Dragon Quest IX is a massive and rewarding undertaking that will keep your DS busy for much of the summer.